ESPN 300 defensive end Torrodney Prevot pulled a bit of a surprise by announcing for Oregon on Wednesday. Prevot had been committed to USC and was considering Texas A&M.

HOUSTON -- For the last two weeks, ESPN 300 defensive end Torrodney Prevot has kept everyone guessing.

College coaches. The media. Even his own high school coaches and teammates. Prevot has been the silent star, at least when it came to his recruitment.

Wednesday, the silence was broken. Prevot is headed to Oregon.

The former USC commitment from Houston Alief Taylor ended his recruitment in dramatic fashion, announcing that he's signing with the Ducks in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates during a ceremony at Alief Taylor High School.

Prevot said that he changed his mind even today and that he considered signing with each of his three finalists: USC, where he has been committed since July, Texas A&M and Oregon.

"When I woke up this morning, I just kept praying," Prevot said. "I honestly didn't know what to do."

Prevot, who is the No. 236 player in the ESPN 300 and the 19th-ranked defensive end in the country, took an official visit to Oregon on the weekend of Jan. 18. His final visit was on the weekend of Jan. 25 to Texas A&M.

The four-star prospect was to visit Notre Dame on the final weekend before signing day, but canceled the trip. He had seen enough. Some thought Prevot would wind up with the Aggies, since that was his last visit. He was among those that thought that.

"Today I thought I was going to A&M," Prevot said. "Today I thought I was going to USC, today I thought I was going to Oregon."

It was an emotional day for Prevot, who had tears in his eyes after announcing his decision. He said that even as he walked down the hallway at Alief Taylor to the theatre, where the signing ceremony was taking place with four other teammates who were signing with BCS conference schools: Duke Ejiofor (Wake Forest), Trevorris Johnson (TCU), Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Oklahoma) and Jonathan Wiggins (Texas A&M).

Even with the coaching change at Oregon, Prevot said he has confidence that things will be good in Eugene. He said he got a good vibe from fellow Ducks when he went on his official visit.

"Just the players and the people around me, I felt comfortable with them," Prevot said. "Bralon Addison, Chance Allen, I just felt comfortable with them. I felt like everything was right."

Prevot said he sat down with his family on Tuesday night and scored how he felt about several aspects of each of his three finalists, giving a three for the one he liked the best and a one for the least. At the end of tallying, all three schools were tied at 28.

In the end, Prevot said he wanted to be different and not follow a crowd.

"I don't like following a crowd because it's not cool," Prevot said. "I don't want to just be another guy in the crowd. I want to step away and be different."

“What is the impact of Prevot’s decision?”

Instant Analysis:

What it means for Oregon: The Ducks still have that late magic when it comes to recruiting. They've made a habit of flipping prospects late in the process and it happened again with Prevot. It's a huge pickup for Mark Helfrich and staff. He should be able to come in and compete for playing time in short order.

What it means for the teams that lost out: For USC, where Prevot had been committed since July, it's another blow to a recruiting class that has lost significant momentum down the stretch. For Texas A&M, it was a surprise because the Aggies had confidence that Prevot was heading there but after flipping four-star defensive end Daeshon Hall from Washington, it's not a significant blow. The Aggies got at least one defensive end that they wanted on signing day.

Turning point: The turning point for Prevot himself was two-fold: his official visit gave him a sense of comfort in Eugene and he has always been a guy that wanted to go against conventional wisdom. It seemed in recent days that many folks assumed he was Texas A&M bound and with a large signing class the Aggies are bringing in, Prevot wanted to avoid the crowd.

Surprise (scale of 1-5): 5. While many assumed he would flip from USC, it seemed to be to Texas A&M. Prevot goes to the beat of his own drum and showed it by going to Oregon.

Immediate impact (scale of 1-5): 3. He'll bring a lot of speed and athleticism to the outside linebacker spot, where the Ducks will play him. He also has the ability to put his hand on the ground and come off the edge as a defensive end, since that's the position he played in high school.